Judith Clark denied parole in Brinks robbery

People attend a rally at the old Rockland County Courthouse in New City to protest the commutation of the prison sentence of Brink's robbery convict Judith Clark Jan. 4, 2017.
Peter Carr/The Journal News

Judith Clark, who is currently in prison for her role in the 1981 Brinks robbery, was denied parole on Friday, April 21, 2017.(Photo11: Submitted Photo)

Judith Clark, the getaway driver in the 1981 Brinks robbery and shootout that claimed the lives of two Nyack police officers and an armed guard, has been denied parole.

The decision comes four months after Gov. Andrew Cuomo commuted Clark's life sentence, allowing the 67-year-old once self-proclaimed revolutionary to seek early release for her role in the Oct. 20, 1981, murders.

Clark has served more than 35 years of a 75 years-to-life sentence for two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree murder. She has the right to appeal the decision and will be eligible for parole in April 2019.

She was behind the wheel during the $1.6 million robbery. Brinks guard Peter Paige was killed at the Nanuet Mall, and Nyack police Sgt. Edward O'Grady and Officer Waverly "Chipper" Brown were slain less than an hour later at a roadblock at the New York State Thruway in Nyack.

The Parole Board decision reads in part: " Discretionary release on parole shall not be granted merely as a reward for good conduct or efficient performance while confined, but after considering if there is a reasonable probability that, if you are released, you will live and remain at liberty without violating the law, and that your release is not incompatible with the welfare of society and will not so deprecate the seriousness of your crimes as to undermine respect for the law."

Sgt. O'Grady's sister, Mary Crowley, said she received a phone call and email Friday from the Parole Board about the decision.

"I'm relieved although I feel we'll have to again proceed with the opposition (in two years)," said Crowley. "I'm happy that she remains in prison. I think that's where she needs to be. She should remain in prison and be the person Governor Cuomo believes she is."

Clark has been incarcerated at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, where she has "a perfect disciplinary record and lives in honor housing," according to the governor.

Her accomplishments while in prison include earning bachelor’s and a master’s degrees from Mercy College, teaching pre-natal parenting courses in the Nursery Program, founding an HIV/AIDS education program, training service dogs and serving as a college tutor.

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On Oct. 20, 1981, Brinks robbery suspects Kathy Boudin, David Gilbert, (who gave his name as James Hackforth) and Judith Clark are led from Nyack Police Headquarters after their arraignment on felony murder charges.(Photo11: JOURNAL NEWS FILE PHOTO)

"My mother did not kill anyone and it’s hard for me to understand who is served by making her die in prison, which is what decisions like this eventually amount to," Harriet Clark, Judith Clark's daughter, said in a statement. "The Parole Board sent a discouraging message today to people on the inside and their families on the outside."

Judith Clark wrote a 2002 Letter to the Editor in which she said she was "deeply sorry" for her actions.

"However unsure I am of the adequacy of my words, I must take this moment to say publicly to the families and survivors how deeply sorry I am for my actions on Oct. 20, 1981, which contributed to so much death and destruction," she wrote. "No amount of regret or apology can undo their loss. But I hope there is some help in knowing the remorse and sense of responsibility I feel toward each of them."

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Mary Crowley, left, and Mary LaPorta, Waverly Brown's companion, applaud speakers at the old Rockland County Courthouse in New City Jan. 4, 2017. A rally was held to protest the commutation of the prison sentence of Brink's robbery convict Judith Clark.(Photo11: Peter Carr/The Journal News)

But Arthur Kennan, a retired Nyack police officer who was injured in the shooting and gave a victim's impact statement to the Parole Board, said the decision showed Cuomo "made a mistake by giving her clemency because of the heinous crime she committed."

"(The Parole Board) heard all the evidence that was presented to them and came to the right conclusion," Keenan said Friday evening.

Clark's lawyer Steve Zeidman said the decision "deliberately ignores Ms. Clark’s extraordinary record of achievement and transformation recognized and valued by Governor Cuomo ... and instead elevates calls for interminable vengeance and punishment."

Zeidman added: "Hers is a testament to the human capacity for change as well as to the potential for the Department of Corrections to fulfill its ultimate goal – a properly functioning Parole Board would have recognized that."

Rockland County Executive Ed Day expressed relief at the Parole Board's decision.

“Judith Clark needs to spend the rest of her life behind bars to pay her debt to society,” Day said. “She is a domestic terrorist who does not deserve to walk among the free.”

Clemency drew anger

The decision to allow Clark to seek parole drew swift condemnation from many in the community who still bear deep scars from the killings.

Hundreds attended a rally opposing parole, and a petition with 10,000 signatures was delivered urging the Parole Board to keep Clark in prison.

Diane O'Grady, Sgt. O’Grady's widow, criticized Cuomo for not reaching out to her before granting Clark clemency, which she called "a slap in the face" to the families and law enforcement.

Clark's supporters submitted a petition with 64 names of current or former elected officials imploring the Parole Board to release her. Norma Hill, who survived a carjacking by one of the Brinks robbers, commended Cuomo for the "courageous" decision he made.

Cuomo's December statement noted that Clark "received one of the longest sentences of her six co-defendants, the majority of whom are either deceased or no longer in custody."

He compared Clark's role with Kathy Boudin, who served more than 20 years before being paroled in 2003. Boudin was a passenger in the U-Haul van driven by David Gilbert, the father of their son.

"Judith Clark deserved the opportunity to make her case for parole based on her extensive prison programming, her excellent disciplinary record while incarcerated, and impressive self-development over the past 35 years," Cuomo's press secretary, Dani Lever, said Friday evening. "The commutation afforded her that opportunity and we respect the parole board's decision."

O'Grady and Brown were killed and two other police officers, Keenan and the late Brian Lennon, were wounded at the New York State Thruway entrance ramp off Route 59 in Nyack by six men with automatic weapons who jumped from the back of a van.

The shootings followed the Brinks armored car robbery by a gang of self-professed revolutionaries at the Nanuet Mall. Security guard Peter Paige was murdered while his partner Joseph Trombino was wounded.